Not Applicable.
The present invention relates generally to trim systems for vehicle interiors. More specifically, the present invention relates to a self-concealing flipper panel used to conceal a gap which exists when a vehicle seat is moved from an upright to a lowered position to extend a cargo floor.
In sport utility vehicles, vans and other vehicles, passenger seats can be lowered to expand the cargo floor area when the seats are not needed for passengers. In most SUV applications, the bottom portion of the seat is pivoted about a forward axis, and the seat back is pivoted forwardly so that the top of the seat is adjacent the underside of the seat bottom. In existing designs, a gap results between the existing cargo floor and the resulting rear edge of the seat back when it is in its lowered position. Such gap can result in problems for the owner, for example, items can be dropped into the gap. It would be desirable to have a system in which the gap would be closed, preferably using materials similar to that used to cover the cargo floor. An existing design uses a panel which can be raised up and dropped onto the cargo floor to cover the gap as the seat is lowered. To raise the seat back, the panel must be manually lifted up and then returned to its stored position.
The present invention provides a self-concealing flipper panel which may be constructed in several different embodiments but which operates automatically and does not need to be touched by the operator during the steps of raising and lowering of the seat back. In a first embodiment, the flipper panel is attached to a fixed anchor on the cargo floor and extends when the seat is lowered. In the second and preferred embodiment, the flipper panel extends toward the floor of the vehicle and flips upwardly to a horizontal position during seat movement.
A feature of the present invention is the elimination of manual handling of the flipper panel during seat raising and lowering. Another feature of the invention is to provide a self-concealing flipper panel which can be matched to the interior trim of the vehicle for aesthetic purposes. A further feature of the present invention is to provide a flipper panel which provides a structural bridge across the gap formed between the cargo floor and the seat when the seat back is in its lowered position. Other features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after they read this disclosure, which features are also deemed to fall within the scope of the claims which follow.